


my beloved enemy

by krakenindisguise



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Enemies, Enemies to Lovers, Feelings Realization, Flirting, Hannibal Lecter is a Tease, M/M, Masks, Masquerade Ball, Sassy Will Graham, Waltzing, Will Graham & Beverly Katz Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krakenindisguise/pseuds/krakenindisguise
Summary: "One more dance?""One last dance.""Ah. How fun to be a liar.""I guess that makes two of us."
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 11
Kudos: 68





	my beloved enemy

**Author's Note:**

> i can't believe i wrote this in 1,5 days to feed my unhealthy dark royalty core enemies to lovers obsession...  
> ANYWAYS i hope y'all will enjoy it as much as i do!! please do let me know what you think!

Will flinched and focused his attention back to her when Beverly’s fingers snapped in front of his face angrily.

‘’Are you even listening to me?’’

‘’I’m sorry, what were you saying?’’

She huffed and straightened the non-existing wrinkles of her deep red gown. Will knew how important this ball was to her, and this was the reason behind his uncharacteristically fashionable and well-tailored three piece tuxedo and irritated attitude. He promised to be her companion to the yearly masquerade ball where all the aristocrats and royalties would be, and Will had no problem dancing with her once or twice until a cavalier with a sharp jawline, expensive tux and an astonishing family fortune to inherit showed up to ask her to dance. It was all okay, nothing he couldn’t put up with for Beverly, until he found out who hosted the ball this year.

‘’I was saying… Don’t ruin this. Not just for me, but for yourself too.’’ He couldn’t help the urge to roll his eyes before turning them to the little, dusty window of the carriage to admire what seemed to be an endless field of flowers Will had never seen in his life before.

‘’I’m truly at peace with my current state of relationship, Bev.’’ He said unpleasantly, voice nearly above a hum.

‘’Which is _currently_ very much nonexistent.’’

Will knew she meant well, they had been friends for long enough to figure out what she meant without even looking her way. It was about time for a suitable marriage, he was the perfect picture of the desired partner; a well-known family name and a remarkable amount of fortune that came with the privilege of being one of the _nobles_ and a somewhat charming appearance. Yet here he was, avoiding all the possible balls and dinners like the plague to hole up in the safe space of his mind and his books.

‘’God, is it too late to get off and walk back home?’’ the carriage came to a halt like an answer to his compliant and he shoot a glance to her before she could open her mouth to make a remark.

The palace was grandiose to say the least, even though he lived in one and seen way too many of them; the white, high stone walls which were painted with a soft palette of goldens and pinks because of the setting sun , the friendly grey tops and slit-like golden studded windows made him froze on his way out of the carriage, making stumbling out of it almost a close run thing. Beverly smiled knowingly when she took his offered hand and got out.

‘’Amazing, isn’t it?’’ Despite knowing what, more precisely _who_ , was inside, he had to admit how impressing the whole building and everything that surrounded it were. The vast expanse of land was covered with flowers, well trimmed trees, well preserved statues and fountains of many sizes, it was impossible to not to get lost in the moment.

‘’Amazing would be an understatement, I suppose.’’ He said while holding his arms out for Beverly to take. The enormous garden was bursting at the seams with an ocean of carriages, expensive fabrics of all sorts of vibrant colors and feathery masks.

After too many hellos and bashful explanations of his constant absence, they made it to the ballroom right on time for the first dance.

Time went quickly and smoothly, without any unwanted interactions with a _certain_ someone, as Will did his best to stay hidden from the heavy attention he drew in the back of the room with a glass in his hand while Beverly danced her way through the charming young men’s hearts as proposed.

He took another sip from the sparkly drink in the long glass and let his eyes ran over about the room until a _certain_ pair of eyes clawed hold of him. Those eyes… even with his face half concealed by the ridiculously yet so unsurprisingly fancy mask, he would know those eyes anywhere.

The very same eyes that were very talented when it came to reflecting the rich redness of the blood he shed, the very same eyes that captured and enchanted his victims.

He blinked quickly to reduce the hypnotizing effect of the intense stare and his instincts screamed at him to leave the room when he realized the other end of the heated stare was gone in the blinking of an eye. He made a move to turn to the entrance and met with Beverly’s overly excited eyes and flushed red cheeks while a tall, handsome man stood behind her.

‘’Will, there is someone I would like you to meet.’’ He couldn’t help the smile on his face despite the overwhelming urge to run out of the room when the man, who was likely to be Beverly’s newest interest, thrusted out a hand for him to shake.

‘’Anthony Dimmond.’’ There was a heavy British accent and a very friendly tone in the young man’s voice. He was taken aback by the unnecessarily firmness and the speed of the handshake, but it was easy to give it to his excitement.

‘’Will Graham.’’

‘’Beverly said great things about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir.’’ Said Anthony and his smile grew bigger like it was possible as he stole a glance from Beverly.

‘’Pleasure’s all mine, Mr. Dimmond.’’

He mumbled something about going out to get some fresh air and turned on his heels to find the quickest exit, and stopped dead in his tracks for a brief second when he felt a hand sneaking around his waist ever so lightly, something only he could notice for sure, setting every inch of flesh the slender fingers contacted afire on their way as his whole body tensed like a bow string. He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was, and what was about to inevitably happen.

‘’Good evening, dear William. You look absolutely lovely tonight.’’ It was impossible to miss the European timbre and the arrogant smile in his voice.

‘’Good evening, _Count_ Lecter.’’

Will said without looking at him, the mockery that were coating his voice didn’t fail to make Hannibal’s lips pull into a grin that could be interpreted as straightforwardly _flirtatious_ if someone dared to look close enough.

‘’To what do I owe this pleasure?’’ Letting out a breathy chuckle, Will turned around to face the older man with something akin to _struggle_ in his icy blue eyes. Struggling with something both of them couldn’t name.

‘’To the godforsaken habit of me, feeling unnecessarily compelled to abide by it once I give my word to someone.’’ He had the chance to give him a once-over when some middle-aged women in flamboyant gowns with frilled skirts and row after row pearls around their necks interrupted their bickering and drew him into talk.

Hannibal was… Hannibal as per usual. So _extra_. Way too fancy for his own good in that golden, embroidered three piece suit with his stupid, matte black feathery mask.

‘’Oh my goodness, how rude of us! We’re obviously distracting your attention from where it should be. It’s _Forest Tale_ playing, we will leave you alone to enjoy the dance.’’

The blond woman in the front said with a playful wink. There was a faint blush threatening to creep up from his neck to his cheeks and it was wrong. It was wrong and he felt himself getting mad because this wasn’t where Hannibal’s attention should be. _Will_ wasn’t where Hannibal’s attention should be. He wasn’t irritated by the implication as much as Will was, since he was Hannibal and not Will, he smiled fondly at the woman and took her hand to bring it to his lips for a chaste kiss as a matter of courtesy. _Show off_.

‘’Thank you for being considerate, Bedelia. Needn’t to be sorry, you weren’t being rude at all.’’ After he slowly let go of her hand, Bedelia and the other two woman kept looking at them expectantly. Before he could understand what they were expecting, Hannibal turned to him with a bloody smirk on his face and held his hand out to him. Hannibal’s mouth worked faster than Will’s, beating him to it before he could say something in defiance.

‘’Would you care to dance with me William?’’ he could feel the tips of his ears burning, with both embarrassment of an offer coming from his _enemy_ , and with the rage of knowing very well that he would most likely to make a fool of himself in front of all these women if he decided to reject it. Hannibal got him cornered without trying. His lips pull into a tight smile and took the hand being offered to him with a sharp nod.

Hannibal’s moves were graceful; his feet, hands and body knew exactly what to do and Will was being dragged along by the man’s expert moves while trying to mirror his steps poorly and mentally scolding himself for his lack of experience. Knowing a thing or two about _waltzing_ could come in handy just about now.

Beverly’s brows damn near touched her hairline when she saw Will and Hannibal stepping past them while spinning around, hand in hand. Several pairs of prying eyes were following them through the room, they were whispering things to each other’s ears, things about them that Will could almost hear in his head.

Hannibal, _Count Hannibal Lecter_ , the heir of the somewhat royal Lecter family name, who was the blue-eyed boy of everyone, the trophy that everyone was after; were dancing passionately with Will, _William Graham_ , the only child of well-known and highly-respected aristocrat Graham family, who was known for his absence in almost every event, the one that remained a mystery.

Will had no choice but to let Hannibal dominate the pace and the steps, he was trying so hard to resonate with his movements but was failing miserably. Hannibal spun them around skillfully, the focus in his eyes and the smile never leaving their places meanwhile Will furrowed his brows and avoided any possible physical contact other than their joined hands, his hand on Hannibal’s shoulder and Hannibal’s hand on his waist.

‘’You’re stepping on my shoe.’’

‘’I wouldn’t be stepping on it if you gave me enough space.’’

‘’You know what they say, terrible boy.’’ Will’s eyes went wide when the hand on his waist pulled him even closer. ‘’Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.’’

Hannibal chuckled when Will stepped on his foot again, harder and much more intentionally this time. "You can at least try to pretend to enjoy this.”

“Pretending is your thing, not mine. I don’t want to be here and I unfortunately don’t possess the ability to make myself appear as someone I most definitely am not to fool people, like you do.”

The crankiness in his eyes faded away as Hannibal looked at him _proudly_ . And he smiled, because Will knew. Because he knew who Hannibal really was behind that golden doors, exquisite clothes and bustling dinner parties. He knew what Hannibal was doing in the dark after the night fell. And he was the only one to know this, the only one who was clever enough to figure him out and yet still remained alive. He smiled, because he didn’t need to play pretend around Will.

“Where's the dagger?'' Will didn’t even try to play coy and defend himself, he couldn’t help the grin forming on his face with half amusement and half confidence.

''I'm sure you would love to know.'’

‘’Charming as always, I see.’’ Will opened his mouth to say something but closed it when Hannibal tightened his grip on Will’s waist and pulled him _almost_ close enough to touch his nose with his own.

The deafening noise of applause drowned every sound, expect the thunderous beat of his heart and the rush of his blood thrumming in his ears, signaling that the dance was over and it was his chance to leave. Hannibal let go of him agonizingly slow and they bowed a little to finish their performance. Will turned around quickly to leave the room, paying utmost attention to not to step on the skirts of gowns swishing around women’s feet. But having the cards stacked against him tonight, Beverly showed up right in front of demandingly. After waltzing his way through the colossal and benevolent ballroom of Lecter Palace with his arch enemy, there was no way of denying Beverly.

The orchestra started playing _Amur Waves_ as he snaked and arm around her waist. He could feel Hannibal staring at him, the gaze of him sliding over his skin like a physical thing. So disturbing, so exasperating; yet so thrilling. _This_ was an uncharted territory, it’s borders was something they were very familiar with; _distaste_ , _malice_ even. But what was inside once they stepped into it was an uttermost obscurity, giving them the feeling of something they didn’t dare to think about.

“What on God’s green earth was that Will?” He sighed, looking back at her as inquiring as she was. He wished he knew the answer.

“I’m not a _coward,_ Bev. There was no way I could walk out just because I was asked for a bloody dance. I had to do it to preserve my name, nothing more than that.” _Lie_. Pretending to be someone he wasn’t, _just_ like Hannibal did. Maybe he was becoming more and more like him than he liked to admit.

“Everyone is talking about you. No wonder it did wonders to your name, it’s preceding you.”

Will made them move through the sea of frilly skirts and shiny dance shoes in circular motions, his eyes met Anthony’s while they were chitchatting with Beverly as the man approached them. With a final underarm turn, she was in young British man’s arms once again for the night. Just when thought he was finally free to get out of the masquerade disaster, he was caught by the trained hands of Hannibal.

“Hello again darling Will, what a pleasant surprise.” He wanted to tell Hannibal to shut up, that he had enough with his silly little pet names. But he didn’t know if he had enough power to do it without blushing furiously. So he rolled his eyes and did what he did the best. _Defiance_.

‘’I wish I could say the same thing, Count Lecter.’’

‘’What a lovely partner you had just now. I must say her choice of color for the gown is exquisite.’’ Said Hannibal, completely ignoring Will’s displeased muttering to strike up a casual conversation as if they weren’t at each other’s throat until they bleed and bruised last week.

‘’I can’t believe I’m saying this but I agree.’’ Lifting his eyes to meet Hannibal's maroon ones he said, “Red is my favorite color.”

“Oh is it?” Hannibal smirked, a lock of golden-white hair twisting forward across his brow. “Why, perchance?”

“Everyone bleeds red,” Will whispered, leaning in this time. “Even you.”

He pulled back to stare at him when Hannibal had a hearty laugh, way too audible for Will’s liking.

‘’Darling boy, if looks could kill, this ballroom would suffer a very bloody crime.’’

"If we were somewhere else, I would have slit your throat by now." 

"No. I don't think you would have." Corners of Hannibal’s eyes wrinkled distinguishably even behind the mask with his uncharacteristically wide and bright smile, Will could swore the man looked at least half a decade younger.

"You don’t think so?" Will’s movements faltered, taken aback by the sudden and bold confrontation which crushed his self-confidence for a brief moment. 

"Not at all. You would have cracked me open right here, right now, if you really wanted to. And yet here we are, waltzing earnestly.”

"You think this is what I want, but I don't." He nodded his greetings to an old family friend before Hannibal did an underarm turn and pulled him flushed against his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs with the abrupt and intimate move.

"This is not a matter of 'want,' my dear. Want is a conscious decision. But _this_ , you can't help. You simply can't resist it. We keep coming back to each other, and I say it's no coincidence.” Will could’ve felt like he was being an instrument to Hannibal’s infamous and perilous mind games if he deep down didn’t know how true these words were. Hannibal leaned closer to whisper into Will’s ear. “Because without each other, we have no purpose. The world is in balance solely because of you and me. And it wants it that way."

They’ve been playing puss in the corner for the better part of the past decade. Observing, teasing and attacking each other. Running away from each other when required. Both of them were well aware of the fact that what had been going on between them was borderline codependent and they didn’t know how _this_ became their life so naturally, and it was maddening.

Will tried so hard to turn his back on Hannibal, to walk away, up to the point where he risked leaving the town and even the country should the need arose. Hannibal on the other hand, made his fair share of effort by trying to find someone smart as much as half of Will to pick up on, tried to find someone as interesting, as entertaining and as courageous as Will; but their endeavours were useless, the magnetic pull of their unusual dynamic was too hard to resist.

"How poetic of you.” The four count swing cutting Will’s sarcastic remark in half. “And self-absorbed."

"Still a fine and efficient way to keep you invested, don't you think?"

‘’Stop talking like you know me, Hannibal. You know nothing about me.’’ It was Hannibal’s turn to get caught off-guard, because those words were sincere as well as they were sarcastic. He pulled back to take a look at Will’s eyes that were looking at anywhere but his face.

‘’Oh, but I do. I know you want adventure and danger. That’s why you are standing right in front of me.’’ He added when he finally caught Will’s eyes. ‘’Maybe even a little romance.’’

‘’Now you’re being ridiculous.’’ Will knew he was right and he hated it. After spending years in each other’s pockets in the name of picking on each other; he hated how easy to read he became.

‘’Why hate me that much if I’m being ridiculous?’’

‘’Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. And I don’t like it.’’

Immediately averting his gaze, Will’s movements slowed when the realization of something so impossible dawned on him. Hannibal’s grin stretched as he watched the curly haired man in his arms judging the situation he found himself in on its own merit. Every step of their mutual hostility, every fight, every drop of blood and every threat that’s been made between them led up to this point. To the inevitable. Hannibal was just a bit luckier, and a bit more blessed with the talent of thinking broadly to figure this out before Will did.

Will’s eyes finally found Hannibal’s after he decided he worked himself up enough over his thoughts, and gave up the last shred of stubborness he’s been fisting in his hand like they mean anything.

He had so much to say, words of denial and hatred were racing through his mind at a million miles a minute. He wanted to yell at him, to laugh at his face for even thinking about the possibility of such thing. Hell, he wanted to slap him across his face with that shit eating grin that made his blood boil and stomach twist into knots on it, to make his ears ring with the force of it. Everything was at the tip of his tongue, but no words were coming out of his mouth. All he could do was to stare into Hannibal’s eyes and just _let_ him.

"Careful now. Don't stare too deep into my eyes, otherwise you might fall in love."

"You wish." This was who they were, as two different individuals who despised each other and made each other the center of their attentions and lives until there was nothing left but them; and as a whole, a _pair_ if he dare said, who couldn’t live both with and without the other.

"You're right." He spun Will around and had him tripping on his toes. Hannibal swiftly caught Will in his arms before he could fall to the ground. "I wish."

They hold the position for what felt like an eternity, too many words and feelings of loathing, grudge, defeat, surrender and understanding were interchanged through their silent conversation until the last notes of the waltz faded away and left its place to another tremendous round of applause. Hannibal pulled him back to his feet and hold his hand out for Will to take when the unmistakable notes of _Waltz in A Minor_ filled the room passionately.

"One more dance?" asked Hannibal while he removed the mask concealing his face with his free hand. The absolute show of acceptance of what was waiting for them, and an open invitation for a fresh start.

"One _last_ dance."

"Ah. How fun to be a liar." Will shook his head, struggled a little bit to take his mask off when his ever unruly curls tangled and finally took the glove-clad hand he was offered. Acceptance of the invitation, what did not feel like a defeat as he imagined, but more like a tie or almost a victory, even.

"I guess that makes two of us."


End file.
